Pipe coupler with lock



Dec. 9, 1952 o. o. BEYMER 2,621,061

PIPE COUPLER WITH LOCK Filed May 27, 1950 H INVENTOR. Y One/7 O. Be l mew Patented Dec. 9, 1952 Oren--01 Beymer; Eugene, Oreg; assignor-to-IrrigationvEquipment-(lo Inc:, Eugene; Oregnw corporation. of Oregon: j

Application May 27', 1950, Serial No. 164,781

LClaim; (Cl. 285-172) The: presentinvention' comprises-animprove"- mentin means for couplingtwot relatively tele= scoped conduit members such as'r'a' pipe-*andia.

coupling sleeve together-in alignment with each" other; the: coupling;- means: comprising a latch andfa catchso arranged as to-interlockwith each other; andincluding'rneanswhereby -relativero tation of the" members in one directionis pre-'- vented: while" relative rotation of" the members" in-the other-direction is permitted under certain conditions as will appear;

Theobject of' the present invention is to provide means wherebya single person may-interlock along-series of pipe lengths "without-havingthe'previousl'y coupled pipelengths-"become*sepa*- rated or without causing the-previouslycoupled pi-pe lengthsto rotate-beyond a certain-position relative to the -ground'i Theinvention-is of par-- ticular' importance-- in i the field ofx" transportableirrigation conduit's'upon-which are'mounted upright sprinkler'heads' or-the like-at-spacedinter vals, prior devices of this nature being objec"-- tionable inthat-relative rotation of the previously coupled pipe lengthssometimes resulted from manipulation of a coupling atth'e far end of the series, thus causing the upright sprinkler head standards to fall to the groundt'andipennitting;

separation-of. the pipe lengths.

A further object and advantage of the present invention is that rapid" uncoupling of pipe lengths may be effected in two different manners; but; if desired, the pipe lengths may" he lockedin coupled relation so that-a tooI must be employedto permit separation thereof atinter mediate points, thus preventing accidental sepa- Intthepresent illustration a: piperlength I0 is? shownias" one ofg'a' pairof" telescoped' members; the other. member I I havinga belled" end- I2v for" receptionof. the ,open' endflof the pipe ID. The:

bell'ediend I2 is preferably provided with an annul'ar" enlargement I3 providing an inwardly facingrgroove' in which is; seated a flexible seal' ing. gasket I4 of any suitable construction such" as illustrated wherebypressure of fluid being transportedthrough-the conduit will cause'a por tionofthe gasket to'becomefirmly sealed'against the insertedipipe' length I 0'. The annularshoul' der' I5 definingthe innerend of the belledpor tion I22 provides-limit means to-limit relativeinsertion-ofthe pipe I0 as-illustrated in Fig. 2.

A mounting pad I 6 is fixed to* the surface of the pipe III as bymeans of" a locatingbolt IT- passed through drilled openings in the pipe and" the'pa'd-and tightenedin relatively leakproof re lation-by an external nut I 83 There-may be any= other suitable--means such as thewelded head? V sertion of a pivot bolt' 23 extending transverselyof -the longitudina'h axis-of the pipe at an: eleva-- tion=above the-surface of the pad; A spacer-col ration as by mischievous trespassers or cattle or v other animals.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from inspection of the accompanying drawing wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a broken away view taken substantially along the centerline of a joint between two telescoped conduit members such as a pipe and a coupling sleeve or a pipe 20 at-th'e forward end of" the pad whereby the" pad 'is maintained in definitely fixed positionupon-thesurfaceofthe pipe.- A pair of laterally spaced ears 21 I and 22*ris'efrom the surface of the pad," the ears-being apertured" to permit in-- lar24-surroundsa portion of the bolt betweenthe ears 2| and 22 with one end thereof againstthe ear 2:] and the-opposite end thereof; against the surface of apivoted locking member--25 pivo' tally mountedon the boltand'having'itsopposite' surface bearing against the inner surface of the:-

ear 22. A latch 26 is pivotally mounted on the spacer collar 24 and extends forwardly toward the open end of the pipe I 0, the latch being provided with a downwardly facing hook 21 having an inclined forward surface 28. An abutment .29 is provided on the rear end of the latch 25 and a second length of pipe having a belled end,

the view illustrating the latch in effective latching position and the lock in effective locking position;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the lock moved to an inoperative position and the latch in a position whereby uncoupling of the coupled members may result from partial relative rotation thereof; and

Fig. 3 is a partial plan view taken substantially from the plane of line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

which is engageable with the surface of the pad IE to prevent rotation of the latch beyond the vertical whereby the latch will alwavs remain in forwardly extending relation. The locking .member 25 may normally rotate from between a forwardly extending position as seen in Figs. 1 and 3 to a reversed rearwardly extending position as seen in Fig.2. A nut 30 threadedly engaging the protruding threaded end of the bolt 1 23 may be tightened to clamp the locking memher in either position, the nut being tightened usually to hold the locking member in forwardly extending position as seen in Figs. 1 and 3.

A catch 3| is mounted upon the end of the member II, the catch defining a notch facing away from the open end of the member and the sides of the notch being of different lengths. The catch preferably comprises a short length of strap having portions thereof welded to the external surface of the member, the notch being defined by a short arm 32 and a long arm 33. The forward surface of the catch 3| is preferably inclined away from the open end of the member ll so that the combined inclinations of the surface 28 and the opposed surface of the catch 3| cause the latch automatically to be raised and dropped into the notch defined by the catch when the members are telescoped together. However, it is sufficient, as will appear, that the catch be provided with the inclined or cam face 28 whereby it will be lifted over the end edge of the belled portion l2.

The arrangement is such that when the members I0 and H are telescoped together to a limit relation as determined by member In striking the shoulder [5, the tip of the latch will have passed beyond the end of the short arm 32 but not beyond the long arm 33 of the catch. Thus if the members are telescoped with the latch 2'6 to the left of the catch when looking toward the catch and then relatively rotated to bring the latch into alignment with the catch, latched relation thereof will be assured since the latch cannot rotate beyond the long arm 33. When the members are then relativel separated to the extent illustrated in Fig. 1, they may be locked in position by swinging the lock 25 forward to position its tip adjacent the surface of the catch 3|. The members cannot be separated now unless the latch 26 is manually raised to elevate the hook 21 above the catch 3|, or unless the locking member 25 is returned to its inoperative position. As previously stated, the locking member 25 may be clamped in looking position by tightening the nut 30 after which separation can be effected only by manually raising the latch 26. An advantage of having the long arm 33 is that an entire series of pipe sections may be connected together by inserting each end into a previously positioned bell mouth and partially rotating the section of pipe. Since all sections are rotated in the same direction and may be locked in latched relation, it would be relatively impossible for accidental reverse rotation to upset some of the standard sprinkler heads.

Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, I claim as my invention all modifications which come within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

Means for interlocking two telescoped conduit members such as a pipe and a coupling sleeve comprising a latch, pivot means comprising a pair of apertured ears mounted on the external surface of one of said members, a bolt extending through said ears, and a spacer collar surrounding a portion of said bolt between said ears and pivotally supporting said latch, said latch having a hooked end extending toward the open end of the member upon which it is mounted with the hook thereof facing the surface of the member, a catch fixed to the outer surface of the other of said members and defining a notch facing away from the open end thereof, one of the sides of said notch being longer than the other, means on said members to limit telescoping movement thereof to the extent that said hooked end may project beyond the short side of said notch but not beyond the long side of said notch whereby uncoupling of said members may be effected by telescoping one into the other to a limited extent followed by relative rotation thereof in the direction to cause said hooked end to pass around the end of the short side of said notch, and a locking member pivotally mounted on said bolt adjacent said latch and movable about its pivotal axis from an inoperative position to an operative position extending forwardly alongside of said latch, said locking member being engageable with a portion of said other member to prevent telescoping. movement of said members to said limited relationship, said locking member snugly fitting between an end of said collar and the inner surface of one of said ears and the other end of said collar bearing against the inner surface of the other of said ears whereby tightening of said bolt causes said ears and spacer collar to clamp said locking member in pivotally adjusted position while permitting free pivotal member of said latch.

OREN O. BEYMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,144,834 Di Cesare Jan. 24, 1939 2,253,232 Gheen Aug. 19, 1941 2,464,466 Stout Mar. 15, 1949 2,499,476 Eyerly Mar. '7, 1950 

